Sharon Osbourne tells epic story of how she met and fell in love with Ozzy

25 July 2025, 15:59

Sharon was just 18 when she met 22-year-old Ozzy, then the frontman of Black Sabbath. Picture: Getty/AXS TV

By Giorgina Hamilton

Through fame, chaos, and forty years of marriage, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne’s relationship was anything but ordinary.

Loading audio...

In a life marked by extraordinary highs and lows, one of the most constant forces in Ozzy Osbourne’s world was his wife and manager, Sharon.

Their relationship began in the chaos of 1970s rock and grew over decades of ups and downs, becoming one of music’s most famous, and complicated, love stories.

Their paths first crossed in London in the early 1970s. Sharon was just 18 when she met 22-year-old Ozzy, then the frontman of Black Sabbath, the pioneering metal band managed by her father, Don Arden.

Years later in 2017, recalling their early encounters in an interview with Dan Rather for The Big Interview on AXS TV, Sharon said:

"Ozzy came into my father's office for management with Black Sabbath. So I was 18 when I first met him.

"They were all odd and hairy. And because I'd been used to dealing with artists who were American, and they were slick, and they were really put together, and they smelled nice.

"And, you know, suddenly these guys come in, and they're hairy, and they're very, you know, from the north of England, and they don't look or dress like anything I've ever seen. And so I was very nervous of them."

The couple married in Maui, Hawaii, in 1982 and went on to raise three children—Aimee, Kelly, and Jack. Picture: Getty

Their romantic relationship didn’t begin until 1979, when Ozzy was ousted from Black Sabbath. Sharon took over as his manager and began steering his solo career. Picture: Getty

But behind the rough-edged exterior, Sharon saw something in Ozzy that went beyond the image.

"He was so funny, so funny and quick-witted and yet very vulnerable. And I just thought he was the funniest, sweetest guy I'd ever met, because he was so vulnerable about everything, and that just attracted me to him."

Their romantic relationship didn’t begin until 1979, when Ozzy was ousted from Black Sabbath. Sharon took over as his manager and began steering his solo career.

What followed was a whirlwind of rock tours, career rebirth—and emotional upheaval. Ozzy was still married at the time, with two children, and their early relationship was far from simple.

Ozzy Osbourne pictured with one of his children in the early '80s. Picture: Getty

Ozzy Osbourne and wife Sharon Osbourne circa 1985. Picture: Getty

"It was tough because Ozzy was married and had two children. So after the divorce, his wife divorced him. So I would have done the same thing at that time. And so everything he had, he just left with her, which was the right thing to do."

Interviewer Dan Rether asked: "Excuse me, and I don't want to be too intrusive here, but she divorced him because of you?"

"No, because of the drink. She couldn't take it anymore, and I get it."

At the time she and Ozzy got together, Sharon had broken away from her father, who had put all his business dealings in her name—leaving her to face lawsuits, tax bills, and financial ruin while he walked free, meaning both she and Ozzy were starting from scratch.

R.I.P. Ozzy Osbourne | Sharon Talks about Falling in Love with Ozzy

"So when Ozzy and I got together, my father wasn't doing good in business, so the world was after me, and he had nothing. So we both started with nothing."

Despite the chaos, their love solidified. The couple married in Maui, Hawaii, in 1982 and went on to raise three children—Aimee, Kelly, and Jack.

Sharon later described the moment she knew this was something different: "When I first met my husband, I knew instantly that for the first time in my life, I was in love," she shared on her chat show The Talk.

"Not infatuated, not like. I truly, really loved him."

When The Osbournes debuted on MTV in 2002, it redefined reality television—offering a raw, hilarious, and unexpectedly heartfelt glimpse into the chaotic daily life of rock legend Ozzy Osbourne and his family.

Running until 2005, the show turned the Prince of Darkness into a surprisingly lovable dad and made Sharon, Kelly, and Jack household names in their own right.

Ozzy was still married when he met Sharon, with two children, and their early relationship was far from simple. Picture: Getty

When The Osbournes debuted on MTV in 2002, it redefined reality television—offering a raw, hilarious, and unexpectedly heartfelt glimpse into the chaotic daily life of rock legend Ozzy Osbourne and his family. Picture: Getty

But theirs was never a fairy tale in the traditional sense. Over their 40-plus years together, Ozzy and Sharon weathered addictions, public meltdowns, and private heartbreaks.

In 2016, their marriage was rocked by alleged reports of Ozzy’s affair with a hairstylist. The couple separated briefly, but reunited five months later.

"I did (fall out of love) along the way because 35 years with someone is a hell of a long time, and I think I fell out of love with my husband and then fell back again," Sharon said in May 2017.

In more recent years, the Osbournes—together with their children—revived their family podcast.

In a 2024 episode, Ozzy and Sharon fielded questions about their enduring bond with a mixture of wit, brutal honesty, and unfiltered affection.

Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne on Gogglebox

"Sharon is like my soulmate — sometimes I love her, sometimes I don't love her, sometimes I'm angry with her, sometimes I'm crazy about her, sometimes I'm very jealous of her, sometimes I wanna fu***** kill her," Ozzy said.

"But through it all, at the end of the day, I love her more than anything in the world. Put it this way: I couldn't live without her; I don't wanna live without her.

"And my love for her now is bigger than it ever has been." Sharon added: "Ditto."

In a 2023 interview with E! News, Sharon offered insight into what kept their marriage alive: "This thing is we're two oddballs. We're both oddballs. I might look quite, oh, the way I dress, quite normal, but normal is not a word I use often.

"So, we're two oddballs, and we were two wild young people that found each other. And I think we're cut from the same mold.

In a 2023 interview with E! News, Sharon offered insight into what kept their marriage alive: "We&squot;re two oddballs." (pictured with children kelly and Jack in 2014) — In a 2023 interview with E! News, Sharon offered insight into what kept their marriage alive: "We're two oddballs." (pictured with children kelly and Jack in 2014). Picture: Getty

Now, as fans mourn the death of one of rock's most enduring figures, the story of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne stands as a messy, honest, and deeply human love story. Picture: Getty

"And it's not been easy. No relationship is easy, and you have to work at it, and you get your ugly times, your bad times, and your horrific times.

"But if you love each other enough, you'll work through. And to realise that you have to accept people for what they are.

"They'll never be what you want them to be. You have to accept them — their good and their bad parts. If you love them enough, you'll accept it and realise that you can't change it."

Now, as fans mourn the death of one of rock's most enduring figures, the story of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne stands as a messy, honest, and deeply human love story.